Here's how big Hurricane Irma is compared to Indiana

Hurricane Irma roared into the Caribbean with record force early Wednesday, its 185-mph winds shaking homes and flooding buildings along a path toward Puerto Rico and likely Florida by the weekend. (Sept. 6)
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A picture taken on Sept. 5, 2017 shows a view of the Baie Nettle beach in Marigot on St Martin in the Caribbean Sea with the wind blowing ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Irma.(Photo: Lionel Chamoiseau, AFP/Getty Images)

Irma, the most powerful Atlantic Ocean hurricane in recorded history, is expected to strike the south Florida coast this weekend. Florida Gov. Rick Scott said 1,000 National Guard troops would be in place by Wednesday night to deal with the storm and its aftermath.

Irma has reached sustained winds of 185 miles an hour, according to USA TODAY.

The National Weather Service says Irma will remain a Category 4 or 5 hurricane over the next few days, with hurricane-force winds extending up to 50 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extending 175 miles.

With that kind of size and force, what destruction would Irma cause if it hit Indianapolis? To put it in perspective, the eye of the storm is as big as Marion County, and the destructive winds would impact the entire state.

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Here is how Hurricane Irma compares in size to the state of Indiana(Photo: Michael Campbell/IndyStar)

Irma is said to be stronger and larger than Hurricane Andrew, the Category 5 storm that killed 65 people in Florida in 1992, destroyed more than 63,500 homes and caused $26.5 billion in damage.

The hurricane slammed across South Florida with sustained winds of 185 mph, killing 423 people. Among the dead: 259 World War I veterans living in camps while building the highway to Key West. Awful as that storm was, perhaps the most horrific storm came 35 years earlier, flattening Galveston, Texas, and killing an estimated 6,000 to 8,000 people.

The USA Today contributed to this story. Call IndyStar reporter Justin L. Mack at (317) 444-6138 or email him at justin.mack@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter: @justinlmack.